Occupy Wall Street

2012-03-11T00:11:20Z

CentristFiasco: Cleaned Up the Article. Removed Partisan Rhetoric. Removed Heavy Criticisms or Strong Biases. Rewritten the Entire Article to Fit Collegiate Standards of English. Removed Conspiracy Theories.

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Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is an awareness movement that may be considered to be a 'protest' to the common man; it all began on September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park which is located in New York City's Financial District. This movement has been initiated by the Canadian Activist Group, "Adbusters" that is investigated to have anarchist, anti-consumerist and alleged Communistic ties<ref>Kaste, Martin. [http://www.npr.org/2011/10/20/141526467/exploring-occupy-wall-streets-adbuster-origins "Exploring Occupy Wall Street's Adbusters Origin"], ''[[National Public Radio]]'', United States, 20 October 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref>; it has played an important but not crucial role in the Occupy Movement in the United States. There have been protests sharing the same title in the Continent of Europe but shall not be associated with the movement present in the United States, due to conflicting natures of each protest movements. The Occupy Movement in the United States based upon investigated journalism, casual observance and critically analytic information gathering and inferring; this movement is strongly against the mixed economy that the United States of America currently has in place, which is a form of Social Democracy(Mixed Economy)<ref>Anonymous.[http://economics.about.com/od/howtheuseconomyworks/a/mixed_economy.htm "A Mixed Economy: The Role of the Market"],''About.com'', United States, Unknown Date. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> This movement's slogan, ''We Are the 99%'' addresses the perceived and possibly growing income inequality and wealth distribution in the United States, after the Wall Street bailouts in the Year of 2008<ref>Johnston, David.[http://blogs.reuters.com/david-cay-johnston/2011/10/25/beyond-the-1-percent "Beyond the 1 Percent"], ''Reuters'', United States, 25 October 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref>. This slogan is considered to be a public relations stunt where the originators, who remain to be anonymous, sole Intent and Purpose was to gather support for the movement to somewhat have a connection with the majority of the American People. The Occupy Movement is infamous in their "direct action" approach to raise awareness without addressing concise, clear and realistic demands in the form of a petition which is granted as a Right in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. There has been increasing troubles within this movement from its peak in October of 2011 where the lack of leadership affected the movement's stability and "protection" from alleged radicals, who are considered to be Marxist, who are looking to fulfill the second to last stage to a Communistic Utopia as introduced in Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto and Capital: A Critique of Political Economy.<ref>Wolff, Jonathan.[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/#4 "Karl Marx's Theory of History"], ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', United States, Summer 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref><ref>Blunden Andy, Clayton Chris, Harris Mark.[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ "Economic Manuscripts: Capital A Critique of Political Economy"], Marxists.org, United States, 2008 and 2010. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref>

===Origins===
Occupy Wall Street has alleged roots in the British Student Protests of 2010, Greece's and Spain's anti-austerity (Socialist Revolution) protests of the "indignados" (indignants), as well as alleged roots from the Arab Spring of 2011.<ref>Apps, Peter.[http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/uk-global-politics-protest-idUSLNE79A03Z20111011 "Wall Street Action Part of Global Arab Spring?"], Reuters, United States, 11 October 2012. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> The more immediate series of events which lead to the protest started with email conversations between Kalle Lasn, founder of the Canadian-based Adbusters Media Foundation and Micah White, Adbuster's Senior Editor.<ref>Schwartz, Mattathias.[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/11/28/111128fa_fact_schwartz?currentPage=all "Pre Occupied"], New Yorker, New York City, 28 November 2012. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> The two had the idea for the occupation of Lower Manhattan in early June of 2011. Lasn registered the OccupyWallSteet.org Web Address on June 9, 2011.<ref>Schwartz, Mattathias.[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/11/28/111128fa_fact_schwartz?currentPage=all "Pre Occupied"], New Yorker, New York City, 28 November 2012. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> Early in June of 2011, Adbusters sent its subscribers an email saying that “America needs its own Tahrir” and according to Micah White the idea "was spontaneously taken up by all the people of the world.”<ref>Schwartz, Mattathias.[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/11/28/111128fa_fact_schwartz?currentPage=all "Pre Occupied"], New Yorker, New York City, 28 November 2012. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> In a blog post, on July 13, 2011, Adbusters proposed an alleged "peaceful" occupation of the financial center in New York City, Wall Street to "protest" corporate influence on the United States Representative Democracy, the lack of legal consequences for those who brought about the global crisis of monetary insolvency, and the alleged increasing disparity in wealth distribution.<ref>Schwartz, Mattathias.[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/11/28/111128fa_fact_schwartz?currentPage=all "Pre Occupied"], New Yorker, New York City, 28 November 2012. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref>

Based of critical observance, the series of events which culminated in the formation of the movement's New York General Assembly (NYGA), an anarchic systemic mechanism, began in June and July of 2011 when a group called ''New Yorkers Against Budget Cuts'' (NYAB) began promoting a “People’s General Assembly” to “Oppose Cutbacks And Austerity Of Any Kind”. On August 2, 2011, the NYAB met in Bowling Green Park with activist, anarchist and anthropologist, David Graeber and several of his associates who attended the NYAB meeting, which they grew frustrated when they found out that the event was not a "general assembly". Rather, the event was intended to be merely a precursor to marching on Wall Street with a corpus of predetermined demands such as "an end to oppression and war!" In response, Graeber and his small group began their own general assembly which eventually drew all the remaining attendees from the NYAB meeting, and eventually developed into the New York General Assembly (an anarchic systemic mechanism). The group later began to hold weekly meetings to work out the issues and direction of the movement such as whether or not to have a set of demandsl the formation of working groups on whether or not to have leaders. As a result, this came to the conclusion that this movement will not have a central authority, a leader, because it would supposedly take away from their desires which remain to be unknown, as of late.<ref>Bennette, Drake.[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/david-graeber-the-antileader-of-occupy-wall-street-10262011.html "David Graeber, the Anti-Leader of Occupy Wall Street"], Business Week, United States, 26 October 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> As a retaliation to his critics, Graeber argues that the movement is based on the philosophy of anarchism.<ref>Graeber, David.[http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/11/2011112872835904508.html "Occupy Wall Street's Anarchist Roots"], Aljazeera, North America, 30 November 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref>

===Goals===

Throughout the time of this movement, mainstream and independent journalists have criticized the protesters and the idea surrounding it by sharing a fair criticism of the entire movement as a whole; the movement has been criticized for not having a reasonable unified aim or cause. There have been a number of leftist media outlets who remains to be sympathetic with the movement and according to Douglas Rushkoff, a leftist scholar to Cable Network News (CNN) states "... we are witnessing America's first true Internet-era movement, which -- unlike civil rights protests, labor marches, or even the Obama campaign -- does not take its cue from a charismatic leader, express itself in bumper-sticker-length goals and understand itself as having a particular endpoint".<ref>Rushkoff, Douglas.[http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/05/opinion/rushkoff-occupy-wall-street/index.html "Think Occupy Wall St. Is a Phase? You Don't Get It"], CNN, United States, 5 October 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> The General Assembly, the "governing body" of the this movement adopted a “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City” in which includes a list of grievances against private corporations.<ref>Anonymous.[http://occupywallst.org/forum/first-official-release-from-occupy-wall-street "First Official Release from Occupy Wall Street"], OccupyWallSt.org, New York City, 30 September 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> As a result of this official release, it has been ridiculed by numerous individuals in the United States, ranging from all political spectrums with the exceptions of the leftist media by critical observance. There has been countless attempts to introduce a new set of goals or demands within the movement, online and on the ground, that favored a somewhat of a reasonable trade policy proposals that reflect the ''true views'' of the movement as a whole, Marxism.<ref>Hoffman, Meredith.[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/nyregion/occupy-wall-street-trying-to-settle-on-demands.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=occupy%20wall%20street%20demands%20groups%20&st=cse "Protesters Debate What Demands, if Any, to Make"], New York Times, New York City, 16 October 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> There remains until this day unofficial demands or goals that are supposedly the "true" demands and goals for the movement but failed to get the movement itself to embrace; for instance, "The 99 Percent Declaration” that calls for a national general assembly of representatives from all 435 congressional districts to gather on July 4, 2012, to assemble a list of grievances and solutions.<ref>Walsh, John.[http://www.salon.com/2011/10/20/do_we_know_what_ows_wants_yet/singleton "Do We Know What OWS Wants Yet?"], Salon Magazine, United States, 20 October 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> As a consequence, these unofficial demands or goals have been silenced and perhaps ridiculed by the protesters themselves, online and on the ground, to the extent the suppose owners, not leaders, of the Occupy Wall Street Web Page<ref>Anonymous.[http://occupwallst.org "Occupy Wall Street Web Page"], Occupy Wall Street, New York City, July 2011. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> stated circa. October 2011 that any demand or goal presented on this site or by anybody who claims to speak for the movement doesn't speak for a single person in the movement. There have been a direct statement on their forums but as of December 2011, it has permanently removed after site maintenance.

===Funding===

In the start of the protests to its peak, in October and November of 2011, the movement has officially reported that most of funding, in the form of donations, was coming from donors with incomes around $50,000 to $100,000 income range. It has been stated that the the median donation that has been given to the movement was 22.00 United States Dollars.<ref>Glove, Candice.[http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/ows_has_money_to_burn_zbjQcSF86gzz8vvVDSNZgM "Who is Occupy Wall Street? After Six Weeks, a Profile Finally Emerges"], New York Post, New York City, 8 January 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.</ref> According to the Occupy Wall Street Financial Team, a member named, Pete Dutro had officially announced that the movement accumulated a approximation of 700,000 United States Dollars.<ref>Glove, Candice.[http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/ows_has_money_to_burn_zbjQcSF86gzz8vvVDSNZgM "OWS Has Money to Burn"], The New York Post, New York City, 8 January 2012. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref> During the period, the protesters were encamped in the park where the funds were being used to purchase food, and other necessities including to bail out fellow protesters who have been arrested for violating State Laws. As of March 9, 2012, the Occupy Wall Street Movement in New York City has been reported of suffering losses in attention funding for their activities; it is reported by Reuters that the Occupy Wall Street Accounting Group has given a message to Occupy Advocates that they only have less than 50,000 USD in the general funds, and that by the end of the month there won't be essentially a single dime to fund the movement in the future.<ref>Nicols, Michelle.[http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/09/us-usa-occupy-funds-idUSBRE8281CM20120309 "Occupy Wall Street in New York Running Low on Cash"], Reuters, United States, 9 March 2012. Retrieved on 10 March 2012.</ref>

===Problems with Occupy Wall Street===

Throughout this movement's peak, there have been anti-Semitic messages reports during its demonstrations, as Jews were blamed for the turmoil in America's financial markets. It is reported that there is and remains to be anti-Israel signs being raised and often praised against what the protesters try to justify as, "Israel's Occupation of Gaza". <ref>[http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/10/11/occupy-wall-street-has-an-anti-semitism-problem/ Occupy Wall Street Has an Anti-Semitism Problem, Commentary.com, October 11, 2011]</ref><ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4135361,00.html Anti-Semitism tainting Occupy Wall Street protests, Ynet News, October 16, 2011]</ref> This behavior has crossed outside of New York City to other similar protests mirroring Occupy Wall Street like, the Occupy Boston Movement where protesters marched to a building that houses the Israeli consulate, and rudely held a brief sit-in in the building’s lobby. <ref>[http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/11/stunner-jew-bashing-obama-endorsed-occupy-boston-loons-hold-sit-in-protest-at-israeli-consulate-video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gatewaypundit2+%28Gateway+Pundit%29 Stunner… Jew-Bashing Obama-Endorsed Occupy Boston Loons Hold Sit-in Protest at Israeli Consulate, Gateway Pundit, November 5, 2011]</ref> In Florida, Occupy Miami's Movement is has been and remains to be led by Mohammad Malik, who has been called for the extermination of Jews and is the principal organizer of numerous anti-Israel rallies.<ref>[http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/11/figures-occupy-miami-protest-leader-led-jews-go-back-to-the-ovens-rally/ Figures… Occupy Miami Protest Leader Led “Jews Go Back to the Ovens” Rally, The Gateway Pundit, November 25, 2011]</ref>

===Leftist Media Collaborations===

It is speculated that media outlets that hold to political leftist views, and those who advocate for the Democratic Party is willfully covering up the violence, in this case [[vandalism]], and hate speech that has and remains to spreading throughout the movement. Countering the lack of coverage of certain details, media outlets that hold to political rightist views, and those who tend to lean to the Republican Party has documented more than three direct or indirect incidents of the movement's unethical and essentially un-American behavior. A host of criticisms coming from the right has approached onto the surface in revealing the "true nature" of the movement; for instance, [[Andrew Breitbart]]'s Big Journalism Website shows emails from well-known mainstream media elites trying to facilitate a message for the protesters, insisting on demands so as to further report on the movement. <ref>[http://bigjournalism.com/dloesch/2011/10/16/journolist-2-0-occupydc-emails-show-msm-dylan-ratigan-working-with-protesters-to-craft-message/ Journolist 2.0: Occupy Wall Street Emails Show MSM, Dylan Ratigan, Working With Protesters To Craft Message, BigJournalism, October 16, 2011]</ref> To add, Rush Limbaugh, a radio personality, states the numbers of protesters involved in the protest are unusually small but remains to be troubling for the mainstream media to handle. This is a rhetorical approach in stating that the mainstream media is doing a poor job at their percieved propaganda.<ref>[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/10/17/journalists_are_advising_protesters Journalists are Advising Protesters, Rush Limbaugh.com, October 17, 2011]</ref> Furthermore, [[The Daily Caller]] has been and remains to report that a host of ''recent'' government-funded networks like, [[NPR]] and their journalist namely Lisa Simeone has emerged as an unofficial spokesperson for the Washington D.C Movement, mirroring Occupy Wall Street.
<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/19/radio-host-with-ties-to-npr-becomes-spokeswoman-for-occupy-dc/?test=latestnews#ixzz1bI7VedDL Host of NPR Show Also Serves as Spokeswoman for 'Occupy D.C.', Fox News, October 19, 2011]</ref> Consequently, the [[New York Times]] reporter Natasha Lennard is not merely covering the protests but is also taking part in planning and alleging executing them. <ref>[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/10/24/nyt_reporter_outed_as_protester_occupy_wall_street_caught_putting_its_money_in_an_evil_corporate_bank NYT Reporter Outed as Protester; Occupy Wall Street Caught Putting Its Money in an Evil, Corporate Bank, Rush Limbaugh.com, October 24, 2011]</ref> The [[Washington Post]] and the New York Times have generated a total of two-Hundred and twenty-four stories, plus opinion pieces praising the Occupy Wall Street movement and its counterparts. <ref>[http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/dan-gainor/2011/10/28/postnyt-182000-words-occupy-wall-street-and-counting Post/NYT: 182,000 Words on Occupy Wall Street and Counting, Newsbusters.org, October 27, 2011]</ref> Lastly, a number of other mainstream outlets like ABC and CBS have reported stories or executed segments about the movement within the first first days it started but compared to the Tea Party Movement, they fall substantially short which resulted in conspiracy theories, excessive political rhetoric and deeper criticisms of leftist or leftist leaning media outlets. <ref>[http://weaselzippers.us/2011/10/28/study-big-three-tv-networks-have-devoted-more-than-double-the-coverage-to-occupy-wall-street-than-the-tea-party-87-has-been-positive/ Study: Big Three TV Networks Have Devoted More Than Double The Coverage To Occupy Wall Street, Weasel Zippers, October 27, 2011]</ref>

===Further Reading===
* {{cite news|last=Graeber|first=David|title=Occupy Wall Street's Anarchist Roots|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/11/2011112872835904508.html|accessdate=23 January 2012|newspaper=[[Al Jazeera English]] |date=30 November 2011}}
* {{cite web|last=Graeber|first=David|title=Concerning the Violent Peace-Police: An Open Letter to Chris Hedges|url=http://nplusonemag.com/concerning-the-violent-peace-police|accessdate=9 February 2012}}
* {{cite web|last=Graeber|first=David|title=Occupy and Anarchism's Gift of Democracy|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/nov/15/occupy-anarchism-gift-democracy|work=Guardian|accessdate=9 February 2012}}
* {{cite web|last=Wolff|first=Jonathan|title=Karl Marx (Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/|work=Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy|accessdate=9 March 2012}}

==References==
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[[Category:Liberalism]]
[[Category:Obama Presidency]]
[[Category:Activists]]
[[Category:Liberal Organizations]]
[[Category: Anti-American]]
[[Category:Anarchists]]

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Occupy Wall Street